Fic: Fortunate Son
Title: Fortunate Son
By: mmouse15
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Two males kissing. Mentions of male/male relationships. Surprising amounts of acceptance in a military setting.
A/N: I struggled with this. I had such good ideas, and I couldn't get them on paper! In the end, I scrapped it and started all over and am much happier with the results. I hope the requestor likes it. Oh, and this is un-beta'd, so I apologize for any mistakes.
Pairing Wanted: Will Lennox/Sam Witwicky
Rating Wanted: PG13 - NC17
Song Wanted: Fortunate Son - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Three things you'd like to see in your story: Will has to return to Iraq, Sam trying to stop it from happening, pre-slash
Three things you don't want to see: deathfic, Will/Hide, Sam/Bee
"Hey, Sam." Will Lennox greeted the young man as he fell into step with him. Sam was jogging around the track on the base, cooling down after a hard run if the sweat that marked his shirt was any indication. Lennox had done his own run and doing his own cool down.
"Hey, Will." Sam replied. The two completed another lap, then dropped back to a walk.
"I'm glad you came out this weekend. I was hoping I'd have a chance to say good-bye before we left." Will snagged his bag and pulled a water bottle out.
"Wait. What?" Sam stopped his own search for water, staring at Will.
"I thought you knew. My unit is heading back to Iraq. We leave Wednesday."
Sam was quiet for a long moment, then he said, "No. I didn't know. I thought…I thought that being attached to the Autobot unit meant that you wouldn't have to go over there again."
Will stopped what he was doing and straightened, looking Sam in the eyes, "It's my job, Sam. It's what I do. I'm needed over there, and it's my turn to go. I can't shirk that responsibility. It's not fair to anyone else."
Sam stared back at him, then broke the gaze and picked up his bag, "Sure, Will. I understand." He slung the handle over his shoulder and started walking towards his quarters. Will picked up his own bag and fell into step with him, looking at Sam curiously.
They had almost reached Sam's door when Will finally spoke, "Do you, Sam?"
"Do I what?"
"Do you understand?"
Sam swiped his card key and opened his door, motioning Will inside. "No, not really. I thought that having you work with the Autobots meant that you weren't on regular duty rotations and you'd never have to go back."
Will dropped his bag beside the door and moved to one of the chairs that defined Sam's living room, dropping into it with a groan.
"Sam. I'm actually doing this with the Autobots. We've had reports of a mechanical creature over there, and so the unit is going with Ironhide. It's a TDY, we'll only be over there for four or five months. Besides, it's not like anyone will miss me if I'm not here."
Sam mumbled something as he bent over to untangle his shoelaces so he could take his running shoes off.
Will lifted his head and playfully growled, "I didn't catch that, have pity on an old man! What did you say?"
Sam finished removing his shoes and pulled off his socks, standing up to hit the shower. He looked at Will searchingly, and Will found himself straightening in the chair. "I said, I would miss you. And you're not old." He turned to head toward his bedroom.
Lennox snorted, "Yeah, you'll miss me like you'd miss Bumblebee if he had to go."
Sam stopped, his back to Will, then he turned and said, "No. It's not the same." He then resumed his trek to the shower.
Will leaped out of the chair, grabbing his shoulder and spinning him around. "Oh, no, you don't. What the hell did that mean?"
Sam didn't hesitate, he fisted his hand in Lennox's shirt and pulled him close. Sam was surprisingly strong, and Will found himself pulled close to Sam, almost touching, as the young man stared at him. He looked at him for a long time, and Will found himself light-headed from that look. Sam slowly released his hold on Will's shirt and stepped back, shaking his head. He made it to the bedroom and slammed the door, and Lennox found himself slumping against the wall, shaken by the unnamed emotions vibrating between them.
The sound of the shower starting up jerked Will from his reverie, and he returned to the living room, moving slowly.
When Sam rejoined him, he behaved as if nothing had happened. Will found himself looking at Sam, stealing little glances but Sam seemed to have himself well in hand and gave no indication that he noticed any differences in Lennox's behavior. They left Sam's quarters and headed towards Will's so he could shower and then they would head to breakfast. Will gave a passing thought to the idea that Sam would make a good soldier. After Mission City, rather than drop back into the indolence of a teenager Sam had pushed himself to become more physically fit. He ran, he lifted weights, he did the base obstacle course, he woke early and he focused on his studies. He admitted that he was not the best student at his college, but he was always in the top 10% of each class.
Will admired his dedication. After Sarah's death, he fell into a depression and Sam joined Epps and others from his unit into cajoling him into running with them. Gradually the blackness that fell over him with his wife's death left him, and he found that he enjoyed running with the younger man. Some mornings they ran together, other mornings, such as this one, they joined up after their individual runs and ate breakfast together.
Will swiped his card key and shoved the door open, Sam following on his heels. Will dropped his bag and toed off his shoes, then pulled his socks off. Sam, meanwhile, had moved around him and sat down, opening his text book to do some reading while Will showered. Lennox paused, looking at the younger man, and Sam raised his head. Something flared to life in his eyes, and Will found himself unable to move, held by that look. Sam rose, setting his book down and moving toward Will, crowding him back until he found himself against the wall, still unable to tear his eyes from Sam's.
"Sam." He choked out.
"Will." Sam leaned against him.
"I'm not…"
"Uh huh." Sam moved closer, his eyes dropping to Will's lips. Lennox found himself unable to breathe, a thick pressure in his throat.
"Will!" The sound of a fist slamming against the door had Sam leaping back, his eyes suddenly wild. Will closed his eyes, pulling air in deeply, unable to process events.
Sam eyed him, moving toward the door and pulling it open as Will straightened away from the wall. Robert Epps was on the stoop and moved into the room as Sam opened the door.
"Good. Glad I caught you guys. Hey, Sam. Listen, Lennox, SecDef is coming in this afternoon to go over this operation, and Ironhide wants us to have everything ready in the hanger, but no one can find a copy of the orders. Sorry, boss."
Will waved off the apology, moving into the small kitchenette and opening the briefcase sitting on the table. He rifled through, finding a copy of the orders and handing them to Epps.
"Anything else? I gotta get a shower, man."
"Sure, Will, sure. Go. It's going to be a busy day. Good thing you're predictable." Epps looked over at Sam as the young man made a choking noise trying to stifle his laughter. He and Epps exchanged a grin, then Sam outright laughed.
"Come on, Rob, get out of here or he'll never get clean and we'll have to smell him all day."
"And tomorrow and the next, too. He won't make it to a shower until Wednesday morning right before we leave."
"Exactly! And I need my breakfast. Got this test I need to finish up and I need my energy."
"Later, Sam. Thanks, Will." Epps waved as the door closed behind him.
Sam moved back to his chair and picked his book up. Without looking at Will, he said, "You'd best get moving."
Will stared at him until Sam looked up. "I don't understand."
"No?"
"No, Sam, I don't."
"Go shower Will."
Giving up, Will moved to the bathroom, stripping off and ducking under the spray before the warm water had a chance to move through pipes. He gasped at the shock, feeling the cold water clear away the fog in his brain. Was Sam…coming on to him? He finished his shower quickly, toweling off and pulling on working uniform. He stomped his feet into his boots, quickly pulling the laces tight and knotting the loops. He grabbed his cap and left the bedroom.
Sam tucked a piece of paper to mark his spot and closed the book, rising as Will entered the living room. Lennox grabbed his arm before he could open the door, leaning down to make eye contact with the younger man.
Sam looked at him defiantly. Will looked back, his eyes searching Sam's, looking for...he didn't know what. Sam's eyes softened, and he reached up to Will, sliding his hand to the back of his neck and pulling him down. Lennox went where coaxed, his eyes closing as Sam covered his lips.
Their first kiss was short, but not tentative. Sam knew what he wanted and he went after it, his tongue tracing the seam of Will's lips and as Will gasped, took advantage of the opening to deepen the kiss. Lennox suddenly realized what he was doing and with whom and he pressed against the hand cupping his head. Sam let him pull back, but kept his gaze on Will, refusing to lower his eyes or back down physically.
"Sam, I…"
The younger man released him, stooping to pick up the book he'd dropped , saying, "We'd better get to breakfast before someone sends a search party out for us." He moved to the door, opening it and stepping outside.
Will shook his head, unable to believe what had just happened. He moved toward the door, but Sam stopped him and motioned behind him.
"What?"
"Your briefcase? You need to go to work right after we eat?"
Flustered, Will backtracked and grabbed the briefcase, patted his pockets for the card key, and finally exited his quarters.
As they moved toward the food, Sam looked over at him and grinning, said "You need coffee this morning, Will. You're really not with it today."
Will grumbled, rubbing the back of his head, "Well, excuse me. It's not every day I have deal with being hit on, you know."
Sam stopped. Will continued for a few steps further before he, too, stopped.
"I'm sorry."
Lennox held up a hand, "Don't. Don't be sorry. Just…let me get some coffee, okay? C'mon, let's go."
"Sure, Will."
Later that day, moving between the mounds of equipment and supplies, Epps cornered Will.
"Hey, man, you OK?"
"Sure, Rob, I'm fine."
Epps looked askance at him. "Man, you sure don't seem it. Sam finally hit on you?"
Lennox jerked away, his voice rising as he exclaimed, "What?!"
Epps backed away, hands up in a gesture of surrender, saying, "I thought you knew."
"Knew? Knew what?"
"Hey man, unless you want everyone over here, ya might want to stop yelling."
Will immediately lowered his voice. "What the hell was I supposed to know?"
Rob clapped a hand on his shoulder, quietly saying, "Sam's in love with ya, Will. Has been for a while now. I just wondered if he'd finally made a move, given how distracted you are right now. You've got something on your mind, that's for sure. You just asked me for the third time in ten minutes to make sure we have enough body armor, and seeing as how I've already checked four times myself, I'm beginning to think you're not really focused on the job here."
Will leaned back against a crate, staring up at the roof of the hanger so far above him. "Are we good here?"
"Yeah, we are. We've got everything, we can have it loaded in an hour, this is all a formality."
Lennox rolled his head down and looked at the tech sergeant, asking, "Do I have a big target painted on my forehead?"
Epps chuckled. "Hey man, you're the only one that didn't know. A few months after…" He broke off.
"After Sarah died."
"Yeah. Well, he broke up with that girl he was dating, and he never looked for another one. He was taking care of you, y'know? I don't think he was really conscious of what he was doing at first, but he figured it out a couple of months ago. You've just been…oblivious."
"Yeah, well, I don't have that excuse now, do I?"
"Ya could always tell him no, and he'd back off and just be a friend."
Will smiled to himself, asking, "Would he really?"
Epps shrugged. "Probably. For a while, at least. Until you started dating again. I think he might have a hard time with that."
Lennox pushed away from the crate, cramming his hands in his pockets. "You're not freaking out about this. Why not?"
Rob shrugged. "Hey man, as long as he's not hitting on me, I'm good. Doesn't make no never mind to me. You're the one I expected to be freaking and you're not. I'm surprised at that."
Will stared out at the horizon. "I guess…hell, I would have been happy with Sarah for the rest of our lives, y'know? But…she died, Rob, and I don't get to see Annabelle that much, and I find that now, I miss more the idea of her than the actual person, and…"
Epps lowered his voice even further. "What about the sex, Will? Are you going to freak over that? 'Cause if you are, you'd better head this off right now. Sam doesn't need to have ya having a panic attack."
Lennox thought about it for long moments, then looked over at Epps. "I don't know."
"Better figure it out quick, man. Now that Sam's in motion, I think he's not going to stop easily."
Sam yawned, wrenching his attention back to the test. He checked a final fact, wrote another couple of sentences, corrected the spelling of a word, and put it away. He was done with the take home test, the scourge of this particular class. He stacked his books, putting them away in his backpack, then tucking the test and extra paper in the back. He gathered his other supplies, pushing them into the front pockets of the pack and looked around. A stack of notes on the bar between the kitchenette and the living room caught his eye, and he grabbed them and wrestled them into the pack. Finally done, he zipped the pack shut and dropped it by the front door, dusting his hands as he headed back to the kitchen. He stopped halfway there, a knock at the door catching his attention. He turned and answered the door, not expecting the person he saw on the other side.
"Will! Um, hi. C'mon in?"
Lennox remained where he was, his cap in his hands. "Are you finished with your test?"
"Yeah, I just finished. What's up?"
Will stepped forward and Sam fell back. "I would go if you weren't finished, but since you are, can we talk?"
"Sure, Will."
Sam moved back and Will entered the room. He took a seat in the chair that Sam hadn't been using, watching the younger man as he took his own seat.
"Figured it out yet, Will?" Sam asked him.
Lennox flashed a look at him that had Sam smirking. "Oh, you think this is funny, do you?"
"Actually, yes. For someone so smart, you sure can be dumb."
"I suppose. Listen, Sam, I really do have to go on this TDY."
"I know. I went and talked to Optimus."
Lennox jerked. "You did what?"
"I talked to Optimus about you going over there. I don't want you to go."
The army captain sputtered, "I…you…this…you can't do that!"
"Of course I can. It didn't change anything, but I did talk to him."
Lennox fell back in the chair. "Even if…" He collected his thoughts and leaned forward again. "Even if you and I were in a relationship, it wouldn't change what I have to do, what my job is."
Sam moved, kneeling before Will, pushing his way between Lennox's knees. "We are in a relationship, Will. It's called friends."
Lennox didn't know what to do with his hands and ended up clutching the arms of the chair, his cap forgotten on the floor.
"That's not what you want, is it?"
Sam had no such problems and put his hands on Will's waist, saying, "No. I want more than that, but I'm happy with friendship."
"For now."
"Can you honestly say that you're ready to start something more right now?"
Will didn't answer right away. He moved his hands to Sam's shoulders, carefully resting his hands on the muscles there. Sam drew in a shaky breath and slid his hands up, moving closer. Will felt a fine trembling in the hands pressed against him.
"No, Sam, I don't think I could handle something more right now."
The younger man nodded and moved to stand up. Will pressed on his shoulders, pulling him carefully into a hug. Sam relaxed into the hug, wrapping his arms around Will's shoulder and burying his face against Will's neck. Will tightened the hug, pulling Sam closer. The younger man nestled closer still, and Will felt his heart expand, a happiness he had never expected to feel again filling him with a quiet peace. Long moments later, Sam pulled back and smiled at Will, then scooped up his cap and handed it back to him.
"You need to get going, Will. Long day tomorrow, and I'm heading back home in a few minutes."
Lennox nodded, standing and offering a hand up to Sam. Sam grasped his hand and stood easily, a small smile still on his face. The older man hesitated, then pulled Sam closer and kissed him. Sam curled into him, his mouth opening and deepening the kiss, and Will found himself pulled headlong into a haze of lust. With a shudder, he broke the kiss, holding Sam away from him. The younger man whimpered, trying to resume his assault on Will's mouth.
"Sam. Stop."
Visibly shaking, Sam fought for control. He straightened and stepped back. Will gave him a quick grin, commenting, "When I get back, we will have to figure this out."
Sam looked at him, chuckling weakly. "Yeah, Will. When you get back. Take care of yourself, you hear?"
"You, too, Sam."
Will opened the door and stood on the step, feeling like this was the first step in a new life. It felt good.
The end.